The deposit limit of individual savers in cooperatives has been removed. The deposit limit of individual savers was set in the ordinance issued by the government last December to regulate cooperatives and to return the sunk amount of savers. This provision has been removed from the revised Cooperative Act which came into effect last week after President Ramchandra Paudel approved the Ordinance Replacement Bill.

The Ordinance stipulated the limit of per capita savings in cooperatives. According to which, savings and loan cooperatives with more than one province can collect savings up to 50 million rupees, savings and loan cooperatives with more than one district can collect up to 25 million rupees, and savings and loan cooperatives with more than one district can collect up to 10 million rupees. After the amendment, all provisions mentioned in the Act have been removed and it has been made possible to save up to 10 percent of the primary capital of the organization. "The limit of personal savings of a member in a cooperative organization can be up to 10 percent of the primary capital of the related cooperative organization," it is stated in the revised Cooperative Act. 

Former judge Gauri Bahadur Karki said that there was political maneuvering during the amendment of the bill and due to the dominance of interest groups, the deposit limit of individual savers was removed. "In the past, the problem arose because cooperatives were allowed to collect arbitrary deposits. To control it, the maximum limit of personal savings was set in the ordinance," he said.

Attempts to limit personal savings in cooperatives were also made in previous bills. However, every time the bill is passed only by removing the personal savings limit. According to experts, the cooperative operation by people close to the ruling party and the access of the director of the organization to the high political level, the savings limit is removed every time. Most of the cooperative heads have been operated by people close to the political party, most of the savings belong to them and they have also used the loans. That's why rules are not always made to be unfavorable to them," said former judge Karki, "This time too, campaigns including cooperative federations requested the Prime Minister to remove the limit of savers. 

Also in October 2008, the government proposed a provision that individual savings of more than 25 lakh rupees cannot be kept in savings and loan cooperatives by amending the Cooperative Act through some law amendments. However, when the bill was passed, the limit was removed. Experts say that the problem of this sector is increasing instead of decreasing because the government does not want to keep the cooperative sector under effective regulation.  In the

bill, the provisions regarding the classification of savings and loan cooperatives and the term of office of directors have also been made somewhat flexible. There was a provision in the bill that no person could be elected and remain in office for more than two terms in the directorship of the cooperative. By amending the provisions in the Act, it is said that no person can be elected as the chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, treasurer, coordinator of the accounting committee of any one level of cooperative organization for a period of more than two terms.

"Despite what is written elsewhere in the Act, a person cannot be a member of more than one cooperative organization of the same nature," the bill says, "but a person who is a member of more than one cooperative organization of the same nature at the time this sub-section commences, shall become a member of only one organization within one year from the date of commencement of this sub-section." In the Co-operative Act, the provision of forming a powerful authority is still in place.

According to the provisions of the Ordinance, the National Cooperative Regulation Authority has been established after canceling the Cooperative Development Board on January 14. However, the authority has not been able to start work due to the absence of a chairman, expert member and chartered accountant. 

Even though there are adequate provisions in the law for the refund of savers' money, it is not clear when the victims will get the money back. On the one hand, the government has not been able to collect the data of savers who save up to five lakh rupees in cooperatives, and on the other hand, the authorities have not yet decided when they will get it. 

Although the government has announced in the budget of the current fiscal year for the return of savings, neither the budget allocation nor the discussion of other sources have been discussed. The law has special provisions for the regulation of co-operative societies and the recovery of sunk funds of savers. "Regardless of what is written elsewhere in the law, savings of up to 5 lakh rupees accumulated by members of cooperative organizations or cooperative organizations that have been declared problematic according to section 104 will be paid on first priority," it said.